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I recently found this graffiti on the wall in the men’s restroom at work: “X is a lesbian.” Under that was written: “Too bad, lesbians are out of balance with Mother Nature. It is an illness of the soul. Nature is harmony.” I was taken aback. First off, the Laboratory as an environment that encourages diversity, and is filled with some of the most intelligent people in the world-with little time for bathroom graffiti-though their “beliefs” do cover a fairly wide spectrum. Secondly, how could someone who seems to consider himself a “spiritual” being seem to be so prejudiced?
Then I thought about it, and questioned why I would think someone “considers himself a spiritual being”? Would it be because he mentioned “Mother Nature”, or used the words “soul”, or “harmony”? We mustn’t be deceived by someone’s vocabulary. Forget their words, but pay close attention, indeed, to their actions, but, for the sake of argument, let’s say that the men who wrote those words do, in fact, consider themselves spiritually oriented :a great number of the people here are fundamentalist Christians, but this seems to be from some other camp.
Let’s look at “Mother Nature” for a moment. Perhaps I could list some things that are not natural. What about deodorant? Wouldn’t it be more natural to just smell? What about combs? Couldn’t you just let your hair go natural? What about toothbrushes, or shoes? Should we throw away our knickers? Trimming a beard, washing hands, or, for that matter, compassion, are all arguably foreign to “Mother Nature”. Some folks would say it’s not normal. That means it is not the usual. Organic veggies are not normal. Hormone free dairy or eggs are not normal. A Rolls Royce or Mercedes convertible are not normal cars.
Then, there are those who seem to be totally unaware of the scientific research showing same sex attraction in many different species of mammals. This is simply fact. Anyone can check it out for themselves. Or, for that matter, the numerous scientific studies that are pointing towards a genetic component to sexual orientation.
What about the “Nature is harmony” part of the graffiti? A tornado or hurricanes are part of nature. Do we disturb the harmony of nature when we build shelters for our families to protect us from storms?
Now, let’s address this: “It’s an illness of the soul”. Well, to my mind, the soul cannot be sick. The soul is a divine spark of the Creator. It is immutable.
Things in this material world come from either love or from fear. A person who would write judgmental or prejudiced things is probably not coming from love. Granted, they may use a vocabulary of love and concern, such as “Love the sinner, hate the sin”, but watch their actions, not their words.Iin a society of free people, why would we not allow people to believe that gay people are out of balance with Nature? We should respect the rights of others to their beliefs and opinions. We don’t have to respect the beliefs or the opinions, but in order to protect our own rights, we need to respect the rights of others.
I disagree with what those people wrote on the walls of the restroom, but I defend their right to say and believe it. At the same time, I defend my right to hold differing views. We could experience peace instantaneously if our brothers and sisters would walk their talk and mind their own business, instead of forcing everyone else to live according to how they think they should. Sometimes, the best thing we can do is to leave someone alone. On the Right, they tell us they want to legislate their beliefs into law in order to protect the family, marriage, Mom, and apple tarts- or is it apple pie?:lol:
The Leftists are attempting thought control and calling it hate crime legislation. This is straight out of the old USSR, where certain thoughts are criminalized. Please don’t be fooled by the language of good intentions. It is never ethically permissible to use evil means to achieve good ends. Thoughts and words must never, never, never be crimes. Even if you disagree with those thoughts and words, you must never allow politicians to outlaw thought and speech. If you do, if you allow them to criminalize thoughts and speech you disagree with, one day they will use that precedent to outlaw your ideas. That’s why I defend this graffiti writer’s right to be wrong.
Though scribbling on bathroom walls is rather bush-league. :lol:
Every day of my life I encounter this way of thinking, though. We hear it from neighbors, priests, preachers, rabbis, teachers, gurus, politicians, activists, etc. How do I respond? Usually, I just mind my own business. I’m not concerned about what others think or believe. It usually doesn’t matter much to me who someone sleeps with, or what gender they are. It usually doesn’t matter much to me what someone believes about such things, or if they think it’s wrong. I care only when they attempt to force their beliefs on me. Then, I might try to communicate my independence by telling them to clean up their own house before trying to fix someone else’s Or, I might say a silent prayer for them, or I might tell them to piss off. It really depends. Again, sometimes the best thing we can do is to tell a fool to piss off. Sometimes, they really need that. There’s nothing spiritual about being a doormat for anyone who wants to abuse you.
Finally, I thought I’d send a message to the haters, the intolerant, and the ignorant, whether they write on restroom walls in Los Alamos, legislate policy in Washington DC, or post on this board. In the spirit of all those who marched on Selma and Washington, they need to know this: gays are not going away, any more than black people did. Gays are not going to be quiet, any more than American Indians are. Gays should never go back into the closet. The days of timidity, intimidation and fear are over. Gays should never live like that again. No one should. It doesn’t matter to the rest of us how you misuse the Bible and religion to condemn them. Your beliefs and thoughts are your own, but you should never again be allowed to legislate rights away because of them. You demand the right for yourselves to marry and divorce as many times as you want, yet you deny them that very same thing even once. Those days are coming to an end. Gays-and the American people-should never allow you to amend the Constitution or make them, or anyone, outlaws in their own land, simply based upon who and what they are.
Then I thought about it, and questioned why I would think someone “considers himself a spiritual being”? Would it be because he mentioned “Mother Nature”, or used the words “soul”, or “harmony”? We mustn’t be deceived by someone’s vocabulary. Forget their words, but pay close attention, indeed, to their actions, but, for the sake of argument, let’s say that the men who wrote those words do, in fact, consider themselves spiritually oriented :a great number of the people here are fundamentalist Christians, but this seems to be from some other camp.
Let’s look at “Mother Nature” for a moment. Perhaps I could list some things that are not natural. What about deodorant? Wouldn’t it be more natural to just smell? What about combs? Couldn’t you just let your hair go natural? What about toothbrushes, or shoes? Should we throw away our knickers? Trimming a beard, washing hands, or, for that matter, compassion, are all arguably foreign to “Mother Nature”. Some folks would say it’s not normal. That means it is not the usual. Organic veggies are not normal. Hormone free dairy or eggs are not normal. A Rolls Royce or Mercedes convertible are not normal cars.
Then, there are those who seem to be totally unaware of the scientific research showing same sex attraction in many different species of mammals. This is simply fact. Anyone can check it out for themselves. Or, for that matter, the numerous scientific studies that are pointing towards a genetic component to sexual orientation.
What about the “Nature is harmony” part of the graffiti? A tornado or hurricanes are part of nature. Do we disturb the harmony of nature when we build shelters for our families to protect us from storms?
Now, let’s address this: “It’s an illness of the soul”. Well, to my mind, the soul cannot be sick. The soul is a divine spark of the Creator. It is immutable.
Things in this material world come from either love or from fear. A person who would write judgmental or prejudiced things is probably not coming from love. Granted, they may use a vocabulary of love and concern, such as “Love the sinner, hate the sin”, but watch their actions, not their words.Iin a society of free people, why would we not allow people to believe that gay people are out of balance with Nature? We should respect the rights of others to their beliefs and opinions. We don’t have to respect the beliefs or the opinions, but in order to protect our own rights, we need to respect the rights of others.
I disagree with what those people wrote on the walls of the restroom, but I defend their right to say and believe it. At the same time, I defend my right to hold differing views. We could experience peace instantaneously if our brothers and sisters would walk their talk and mind their own business, instead of forcing everyone else to live according to how they think they should. Sometimes, the best thing we can do is to leave someone alone. On the Right, they tell us they want to legislate their beliefs into law in order to protect the family, marriage, Mom, and apple tarts- or is it apple pie?:lol:
The Leftists are attempting thought control and calling it hate crime legislation. This is straight out of the old USSR, where certain thoughts are criminalized. Please don’t be fooled by the language of good intentions. It is never ethically permissible to use evil means to achieve good ends. Thoughts and words must never, never, never be crimes. Even if you disagree with those thoughts and words, you must never allow politicians to outlaw thought and speech. If you do, if you allow them to criminalize thoughts and speech you disagree with, one day they will use that precedent to outlaw your ideas. That’s why I defend this graffiti writer’s right to be wrong.
Though scribbling on bathroom walls is rather bush-league. :lol:
Every day of my life I encounter this way of thinking, though. We hear it from neighbors, priests, preachers, rabbis, teachers, gurus, politicians, activists, etc. How do I respond? Usually, I just mind my own business. I’m not concerned about what others think or believe. It usually doesn’t matter much to me who someone sleeps with, or what gender they are. It usually doesn’t matter much to me what someone believes about such things, or if they think it’s wrong. I care only when they attempt to force their beliefs on me. Then, I might try to communicate my independence by telling them to clean up their own house before trying to fix someone else’s Or, I might say a silent prayer for them, or I might tell them to piss off. It really depends. Again, sometimes the best thing we can do is to tell a fool to piss off. Sometimes, they really need that. There’s nothing spiritual about being a doormat for anyone who wants to abuse you.
Finally, I thought I’d send a message to the haters, the intolerant, and the ignorant, whether they write on restroom walls in Los Alamos, legislate policy in Washington DC, or post on this board. In the spirit of all those who marched on Selma and Washington, they need to know this: gays are not going away, any more than black people did. Gays are not going to be quiet, any more than American Indians are. Gays should never go back into the closet. The days of timidity, intimidation and fear are over. Gays should never live like that again. No one should. It doesn’t matter to the rest of us how you misuse the Bible and religion to condemn them. Your beliefs and thoughts are your own, but you should never again be allowed to legislate rights away because of them. You demand the right for yourselves to marry and divorce as many times as you want, yet you deny them that very same thing even once. Those days are coming to an end. Gays-and the American people-should never allow you to amend the Constitution or make them, or anyone, outlaws in their own land, simply based upon who and what they are.
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:lol2:
